JP4124303B2 - Apparatus and method for manufacturing three-dimensional object - Google Patents

Description

[0001]
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
The present invention relates to an apparatus and a method for manufacturing a three-dimensionally shaped object having a relatively complicated shape such as a pump blade.
[0002]
[Prior art]
Conventionally, when casting an article having a complicated shape such as an impeller of a rotating machine, a prototype of the mold is, for example, a selective laser sintering apparatus which is a kind of rapid model manufacturing method (RP method). It is made by stereolithography.
[0003]
This will be described with reference to FIG. 4. A particulate elastomer material is supplied into the chamber 62 of the selective laser sintering apparatus 60 to form an elastomer material layer 64 having a thickness h of, for example, 0.1 mm. Then, a laser beam from a laser light source 66 such as a carbon dioxide laser generator is applied to the elastomer material layer 64 through a mirror 68, and the elastomer material located in the portion irradiated with the laser beam is selectively melt-cured (baked). The elastomer flake 70 is formed. Thereafter, this process is repeated to sequentially laminate the elastomer flakes 70 to form a prototype having a predetermined shape.
[0004]
[Problems to be solved by the invention]
However, in such a mold manufacturing method, it is necessary to selectively melt and cure the material with a laser beam, so that there are limitations on the materials that can be used. In addition, since the laser beam irradiates the material linearly in the laser beam irradiation direction (vertical direction), a linear surface is formed in this direction, so that a step is generated between the stacked layers of the elastomer thin pieces 70. There is a problem that it does not become a smooth continuous surface.
[0005]
The present invention has been made in view of the above circumstances, and it is an object of the present invention to provide a three-dimensionally shaped manufacturing apparatus and method that can diversify the materials that can be used and can manufacture a shape having a smooth three-dimensional curved surface. And
[0006]
[Means for Solving the Problems]
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention has been made to solve the above-mentioned problems, and the invention according to claim 1 is characterized in that the slit along the planar shape and the cross-sectional shape of a portion at a certain height position of the object to be manufactured is a plate shape. form shape the material, the segment processing device, the segment in which the slits are formed sequentially processed into a state in which the segment and the unnecessary portion constituting a part of the object is coupled through a coupling portion A three-dimensionally shaped manufacturing apparatus comprising a joining device for joining and a separating device for separating unused portions from the joined pieces.
[0007]
In order to manufacture a three-dimensional object using such a manufacturing apparatus, first, a slit processing is performed on a plate-shaped material by an element processing device, and the elements constituting a part of the three-dimensional object are connected to an unnecessary part. It forms in the state connected with the part. As the piece processing apparatus, for example, a mechanical cutting apparatus such as an end mill is generally used. However, as long as a plate-shaped material can be processed in a predetermined pattern, ultrasonic, thermal or electrical An appropriate one such as one using energy can be adopted. It is desirable that the surface in the plate thickness direction of the element piece can be formed into a curved surface according to the shape of the object to be manufactured.
[0008]
Next, the plate-shaped material in which the slit is formed is bonded onto the adjacent pieces of elements by a bonding apparatus and sequentially laminated. As a joining method, various methods such as fusion, pressure bonding, or adhesion using an adhesive can be employed depending on the material. After that, the separating unit separates the piece from the plate material by cutting off the connecting portion of the plate material. By forming the connecting portion to be fragile, it can be selectively disconnected by applying a predetermined shearing force to the connecting portion, but any appropriate separation method or apparatus can be employed. Thereafter, this process is repeated to sequentially stack and bond the pieces to form a predetermined three-dimensional shape.
[0009]
As the plate material, any material can be adopted as long as it can be processed and joined. For example, materials that can be joined by themselves include thermoplastic resins and metals. A material in which a heat-adhesive adhesive such as ceramic that itself cannot be bonded is applied, or a material in which a brazing material is clad on the surface of a metal that is not heat-melted can be used.
[0010]
In the above description, the separated pieces may be laminated and joined after the pieces are separated from the plate material by the separating device. The plate thickness of the plate material may be selected in consideration of the accuracy required for the curved surface in the plate thickness direction of the three-dimensional shape to be manufactured, the processing accuracy of the piece processing apparatus, the manufacturing efficiency, and the like. That is, if the plate thickness is reduced, the accuracy of the curved surface is improved, but the production efficiency is lowered by the increase in the number of plate-like materials, and therefore it may be selected appropriately depending on the situation.
[0011]
The invention according to claim 2 is the apparatus for producing a three-dimensional shape object according to claim 1, characterized in that the plate-shaped material is conveyed between the piece processing device and the joining device in a positionable manner. is there. Thereby, the joining process can be performed while maintaining the positioning state in the fragment processing step, and the labor of positioning can be saved.
[0012]
According to a third aspect of the present invention, a slit is formed in a plate material along a plane shape and a cross-sectional shape of a portion at a certain height position of an object to be manufactured, and a piece constituting a part of the object; A piece processing step for processing the waste portion in a state of being connected to each other via a connecting portion, a joining step for sequentially joining the pieces in which the slits are formed, and a waste portion is separated from the joined pieces. And a separation step . A method for producing a three-dimensional shape object .
[0013]
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION
Hereinafter, an embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. FIG. 1 is a schematic side view showing a three-dimensionally shaped manufacturing apparatus according to the present embodiment. The processing apparatus 10 includes an upper tool 12 and a lower tool 14, both of which have a processing tool such as an end mill on a machine head that is rotatable and movable in three axial directions of the X, Y, and Z axes. Installed and configured. The processing device 10 further includes a control device that performs numerical control processing by controlling the movement and rotation of the upper tool 12 and the lower tool 14 in accordance with a program inputted in advance, and a plate to be processed or processed A roller 16 for transferring P is provided.
[0014]
The laminating apparatus 20 includes a box-shaped laminating chamber 22, and heaters (heating devices) 24 and 26 are installed on the lower surface of the upper wall 22a and the inner surface of the side wall 22b, respectively. As these heaters 24 and 26, appropriate ones such as a ceramic heater, an infrared heater or a nichrome wire heater can be used. Inside the stacking device 20, there is provided a lifting device 28 having a motor 30, a feed screw 32 that is rotationally driven by the motor 30, and a lifting platform 34 that moves up and down by the feed screw 32. Accordingly, by rotating the motor 30 forward or backward, the feed screw 32 is rotated forward or backward to raise or lower the elevator platform 34.
[0015]
A storage container 40 is provided adjacent to the laminating apparatus 20 for storing unused portions of the plate P. On the upper part of the laminating apparatus 20 and the storage container 40, an adsorption plate 36 is provided that can reciprocate them with rollers 38. A suction port 46 of an air flow path 44 connected to a vacuum device (not shown) is opened on the lower surface of the suction plate 36, whereby the vacuum device is operated and suctioned from the suction port 46. An adsorption device 42 that adsorbs and holds articles on the lower surface of the adsorption plate 36 is configured.
[0016]
The joining device 50 is configured by the heaters (heating devices) 24 and 26, the suction plate 36 and the lifting device 28, the separation device 52 is configured by the suction plate 36 and the lifting device 28, and the storage device 54 is formed by the suction plate 36 and the storage container 40. Is configured.
[0017]
Next, the manufacturing method using the manufacturing apparatus of the three-dimensional shape object comprised in this way is demonstrated. First, the processing apparatus 10 is used to simultaneously process the plate P of a predetermined material from the upper side and the lower side by the upper tool 12 and the lower tool 14 respectively, thereby forming a slit S penetrating the plate P in the thickness direction. To do. As shown in FIG. 2, the slit S is formed along the shape of a portion at a specific height position of an object to be laminated. If the slit S is formed over the entire circumference of the object, the inner portion of the slit S falls, so that it is programmed in advance so as to process the connecting portions R at a predetermined pitch.
[0018]
The cut surface of the slit S is processed according to the shape of the object to be produced. That is, if the longitudinal section of the portion is a curved surface, the cutting is performed by controlling the tool so that the cut surface becomes a curved surface in the thickness direction. Usually, the upper half of the plate thickness is machined with the upper tool, and the lower half is machined with the lower tool. Due to the characteristics of the tool, it is impossible to process a curved surface with an inflection point in the center of the plate thickness.
[0019]
Next, in the stacking chamber 22 of the stacking apparatus 20, the end face of the uppermost plate piece P1 among the plates P1 already stacked on the lifting platform 34 is held close to the heater 24 and heated to a predetermined temperature. And at least partially melt. The entire object is maintained at a predetermined temperature lower than the melting temperature by the heater 26 to assist the melting of the uppermost portion by the heater 24. And the plate P which gave the slit process is sent in into the lamination | stacking chamber 22 with the roller 16, and the plate piece P1 is positioned on the uppermost plate piece P1 on the raising / lowering stand 34. FIG.
[0020]
Next, the suction plate 36 is moved to the upper side of the plate P in the stacking chamber 22 by the roller 38, the lifting device 34 is operated to raise the lifting platform 34, and as shown in FIG. The uppermost plate piece P1 and the plate P are pressurized and joined by the table 34. Then, the adsorbing device 42 is operated to adsorb the plate P to the lower surface of the adsorbing plate 36, the elevating device 34 is operated to lower the elevating platform 34, and the connecting portion R of the plate P is broken. As a result, the portion of the plate P that has been fused to the plate piece P <b> 1 is lowered, and an unnecessary portion remains on the suction plate 36.
[0021]
Next, after the suction plate 36 is moved from the stacking chamber 22 onto the storage container 40 by the roller 38, the suction force is released and the unused portion of the plate P is dropped into the storage container 40. Thereafter, the above steps are repeated to sequentially laminate and join the plate pieces P1 to form a predetermined three-dimensional shape.
[0022]
In the above-described embodiment, the suction force by the vacuum device is used as the suction device. However, the present invention is not limited to this. For example, a device using electrostatic force or magnetic force may be used, as long as the plate can be held.
[0023]
【Example】
Hereinafter, an embodiment in which a casting mold is manufactured using the three-dimensionally shaped manufacturing apparatus shown in FIGS. 1 to 3 will be described. First, a plurality of plates P made of porous polystyrene having a length of 1000 mm, a width of 1000 mm, and a plate thickness of 10 mm are prepared. On the other hand, the shape dimension of the object to be produced is input to the processing apparatus 10 by a predetermined method. I remembered it. Then, in the processing apparatus 10, each plate P is simultaneously processed from the upper side and the lower side by the upper tool 12 and the lower tool 14 made of an end mill, and the planar shape and the cross-sectional shape corresponding to the respective height positions of the object to be manufactured. Is formed so as to penetrate the slit S along the plate thickness direction and leave a plurality of connecting portions R.
[0024]
The plates P to be sequentially processed were sequentially stacked in the stacking apparatus 20. That is, the plate piece P1 in the laminating apparatus 20 was heated by the heater 24 and the heater 26 made of a nichrome wire heater, and the uppermost plate deformation P1 was heated to a temperature of 100 ° C. and melted. Then, the slit-processed plate P is transferred by the roller 16 so as to be positioned on the plate piece P1 in the stacking chamber 22, the roller 38 is moved to the upper side, the lifting device 34 is operated, and the lifting platform 34 is moved. To raise. As a result, as shown in FIG. 3, the uppermost plate piece P1 on the lifting platform 34 and the plate P held by the suction plate 36 were pressurized with a load of 1 kg / cm ² for 1 minute, and both were joined.
[0025]
Next, in a state where the plate P is attracted to the lower surface of the suction plate 36 by the suction device 42, the lifting device 34 is operated to lower the lifting platform 34 to break the connecting portion R, and the unused portion remaining on the suction plate 36 is After being moved onto the storage container 40 by the roller 38, the suction force was released and the roller was dropped. Thereafter, the above steps were repeated to sequentially laminate and join the plate pieces P1 to produce a casting wooden mold. Thereby, the casting mold was able to be manufactured in a short time.
[0026]
【The invention's effect】
As described above, according to the present invention, materials that can be used for manufacturing can be diversified, and a three-dimensional object having a smooth three-dimensional curved surface, in particular, an inner and outer portion such as a wooden shape for a pump casing. An object having a complicated shape having a double shell structure can be manufactured by a simple process.
[Brief description of the drawings]
FIG. 1 is a schematic side view showing an apparatus for producing a three-dimensional object according to an embodiment of the present invention.
FIG. 2 is a plan view of a slit-processed plate.
FIG. 3 is a side view for explaining a joining step of laminating and joining plate pieces.
FIG. 4 is a diagram for explaining a conventional example.
[Explanation of symbols]
DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 10 Processing apparatus 12 Upper tool 14 Lower tool 20 Laminating apparatus 24, 26 Heater (heating apparatus)
28 Lifting Device 36 Suction Plate 40 Storage Container 42 Suction Device 50 Joining Device 52 Separating Device 54 Storage Device P Plate P1 Plate Piece S Slit R Connecting Portion

Claims (3)

The to be fabricated object, it forms the shape of the slit along the planar shape and cross-sectional shape of a portion of a height position in the plate material, the piece and the unnecessary portion constituting a part of the object via the connecting portion A piece processing device for processing into a connected state,
A joining device for sequentially joining the pieces in which the slits are formed ;
A three-dimensionally shaped manufacturing apparatus, comprising: a separation device that separates an unnecessary portion from the joined pieces. Production equipment of a three-dimensional shaped article according to claim 1, characterized in that the positionable to convey the plate-like material between the segment processing device and the joining device. The to be fabricated object, it forms the shape of the slit along the planar shape and cross-sectional shape of a portion of a height position in the plate material, the piece and the unnecessary portion constituting a part of the object via the connecting portion A piece processing step of processing into a connected state,
A joining step of sequentially joining the pieces in which the slits are formed ;
And a separation step of separating unused portions from the joined pieces.

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